Contrasts

A Detail in History by Arek Hersh

This is the true story of what happened to Arek Hersh during the war. As an 11 year old Polish Jew he had to endure and witness many horrors. Somehow Arek survives what happens – when you read the book you wonder how that could be possible. Arek loses his family – mother, father, brother and sister, but he doesn’t give up. The strength and resourcefulness of this boy is unbelievable.

After the war Arek spent some time in Windermere, Cumbria before settling down, getting married and having a family. In his retirement, he spends time with young people sharing his story. He came to where I work to give a talk and I unfortunately missed it. After reading this book, I would definitely go to hear him speak.

What You Did – Clare McGowan

Ali is married to Mike, they met at university. Twenty-five years later, Ali throws a reunion party and invites four other friends. Its the first time in 25 years that the 6 of them have been together since University.

Everything goes well until Karen, Ali’s best friend, comes into the house with blood on her thighs and says that Mike attacked and raped her. The story follows the fallout of this statement, what happens to Mike, how Ali is torn between her husband and best friend.

The characters in the book are all flawed, but I liked them and wanted to find out what happened to them. I really enjoyed this book – easy to read, made me want to keep reading. Perfect bit of escapism.